Classic poetry / poems

Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Emma Hartnoll.Initially a vivacious, outgoing person, Emily Dickinson (1830-1886) progressively withdrew into a reclusive existence. An undiscovered genius during her lifetime, only seven out of her total of 1,775 poems were published prior to her death. She had an immense breadth of vision and a passionate intensity and awe for life, love, nature, time and eternity. Originally branded an eccentric, Emily Dickinson is now recognised as a major poet of great depth, startling originality and courage for as she wrote: ‘Assent and you are sane; /Demure you’re straightaway dangerous / And handled with a chain’.

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Book SynopsisA translation that describes Dante's descent into Hell with Virgil as a guide. It depicts a cruel underworld in which desperate figures are condemned to eternal damnation for committing one or more of seven deadly sins. It also includes explanatory notes and illustrations showing the different layers of hell.Trade ReviewThe perfect balance of tightness and colloquialism...likely to be the best modern version of Dante -- Bernard O'Donoghue

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Bibliography by Stephen Matterson, Trinity College, Dublin. Walt Whitman's verse gave the poetry of America a distinctive national voice. It reflects the unique vitality of the new nation, the vastness of the land and the emergence of a sometimes troubled consciousness, communicated in language and idiom regarded by many at the time as shocking. Whitman's poems are organic and free flowing, fit into no previously defined genre and skilfully combine autobiographical, sociological and religious themes with lyrical sensuality. His verse is a fitting celebration of a new breed of American and includes 'Song of Myself', 'Crossing Brooklyn Ferry', the celebratory 'Passage to India', and his fine elegy for the assassinated President Lincoln, 'When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd'.

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Book SynopsisAs the world celebrates and reflects on the beautiful life of Maya Angelou, Virago presents an updated collection of her works of poetry, collected together for the first time.Trade ReviewOne of the brightest lights of our time -- a brilliant writer, a fierce friend, and a truly phenomenal woman * Barack Obama *The poems and stories she wrote and read to us in her commanding voice were gifts of wisdom and wit, courage and grace . . . I will always be grateful for her electrifying reading of 'On the Pulse of Morning' at my first inaugural, and even more for all the years of friendship that followed * Bill Clinton *The world knows her as a poet but at the heart of her, she was a teacher. "When you learn, teach. When you get, give" is one of my best lessons from her * Oprah Winfrey *You will hear the regal woman, the mischievous street girl; you will hear the price of black woman's survival and you will hear of her generosity. Black, bitter, and beautiful, she speaks of our survival * James Baldwin *

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Book SynopsisWith a new Introduction by Cedric Watts, Research Professor of English, University of Sussex. W. B. Yeats was Romantic and Modernist, mystical dreamer and leader of the Irish Literary Revival, Nobel prizewinner, dramatist and, above all, poet. He began writing with the intention of putting his 'very self' into his poems. T. S. Eliot, one of many who proclaimed the Irishman's greatness, described him as 'one of those few whose history is the history of their own time, who are part of the consciousness of an age which cannot be understood without them'. For anyone interested in the literature of the late nineteenth century and the twentieth century, Yeats's work is essential. This volume gathers the full range of his published poetry, from the hauntingly beautiful early lyrics (by which he is still fondly remembered) to the magnificent later poems which put beyond question his status as major poet of modern times. Paradoxical, proud and passionate, Yeats speaks today as eloquently as ever.

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Book SynopsisDuring his life, Geoffrey Chaucer (born c.1340) was courtier, diplomat, revenue collector, administrator, negotiator, overseer of building projects, landowner and knight of the shire. He was servant, retainer, husband, friend and father, but is now mainly known as a poet and ‘the father of English literature’, a postion to which he was raised by other writers in the generation after his death. It was Boccaccio’s Decameron which inspired Chaucer, in the 1390s, to begin work on The Canterbury Tales, which was still unfinished at his death in October 1400. It tells the story of a group of 30 pilgrims who meet at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, on the south bank of the Thames opposite the city of London, and travel together to visit the then famous shrine of St Thomas Becket in Canterbury cathedral. The tavern host, who accompanies them, suggests that they amuse one another along the way by telling stories, with the best storyteller awarded a meal in the tavern (paid for by all the others) on their return. The stories told by the pilgrims range from bawdy comedies through saints’ lives and moral tracts to courtly romances, always delivered with a generous helping of Chaucer’s own sly wit and ironic humour. Although basing his characters on the stereotypes of ‘estates satire’, Chaucer succeeds in his aim of producing an overview of his times and their culture, for posterity, in the manner of Italian, proto-Renaissance, writers.This transcription and edition is taken from British Library MS Harley 7334, produced within ten years of Chaucer’s death. The on-page notes and glosses aim to enable readers with little or no previous experience of medieva

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction, Notes and Bibliography by Anne Varty, Royal Holloway, University of London. Wilde, glamorous and notorious, more famous as a playwright or prisoner than as a poet, invites readers of his verse to meet an unknown and intimate figure. The poetry of his formative years includes the haunting elegy to his young sister and the grieving lyric at the death of his father. The religious drama of his romance with Rome is captured here, as well as its resolution in his renewed love of ancient Greece. He explores forbidden sexual desires, pays homage to the great theatre stars and poets of his day, observes cityscapes with impressionist intensity. His final masterpiece, 'The Ballad of Reading Gaol', tells the painful story of his own prison experience and calls for universal compassion. This edition of Wilde's verse presents the full range of his achievement as a poet.

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by Katherine McGowran.Christina Rossetti is widely regarded as the most considerable woman poet in England before the twentieth century. No reading of nineteenth century poetry can be complete without attention to this prolific and popular poet. Rosetti's inner life dominates her poetry, exploring loss and unattainable hope. Her divine poems have a freshness and toughness of thought, while many of her love poems are erotic, and as often express love for women as for men. The varied threads of Rossetti's concerns are drawn together in what is perhaps her greatest poem, the strange and ambiguous 'Goblin Market'.

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Book SynopsisPoems of the Sea is an anthology of classic poetry that celebrates the sea; from the power of a stormy ocean to ships and sailors and beaches strewn with shells. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, pocket-sized classics with ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an introduction by author Adam Nicolson.For generations, poets have taken inspiration from ocean mists and rugged coastlines to conjure up adventures on the high seas and joyous days at the seaside. From Emily Dickinson’s morning dog walks by the shore, to the river running through Sara Teasdale’s sunny valley, and from Walt Whitman’s fish-filled forests, to the silent ships passing in Paul Laurence Dunbar’s dark ocean, there are poems here for every reader to enjoy.

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Book SynopsisWilliam Blake’s Songs of Innocence and of Experience includes some of the visionary poet’s finest and best-loved poems such as ‘The Lamb’, ‘The Chimney-Sweeper’ and ‘The Tiger’. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library, a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket-sized classics with gold-foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition has a foreword by Peter Harness. Blake’s work is instantly recognizable by its flamboyance and inventiveness. This gorgeous edition contains stunning reproductions of the fifty-four plates of the poems and illustrations together, which Blake etched himself and coloured by hand. Each has the poem printed on the facing page. Whilst Songs of Innocence captures the innocence of childhood, Songs of Experience is its contrasting sequel.Trade ReviewMy mind and my body reacted to certain lines from the Songs of Innocence and of Experience . . . with the joyful immediacy of a flame leaping to meet a gas jet. -- Philip Pullman * The Guardian *As a poet, Blake's greatest works are the short ones, his Songs of Innocence and Experience. * The Independent *

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Book SynopsisThis smart new paperback edition contains the fully-reset text of three medieval English poems, translated by Tolkien for the modern-day reader and containing romance, tragedy, love, sex and honour. It features a beautifully decorated text and includes as a bonus the complete version of Tolkien's acclaimed lecture on Sir Gawain.Sir Gawain and the Green Knight and Pearl are two poems by an unknown author written in about 1400. Sir Gawain is a romance, a fairy-tale for adults, full of life and colour; but it is also much more than this, being at the same time a powerful moral tale which examines religious and social values.Pearl is apparently an elegy on the death of a child, a poem pervaded with a sense of great personal loss: but, like Gawain it is also a sophisticated and moving debate on much less tangible matters.Sir Orfeo is a slighter romance, belonging to an earlier and different tradition. It was a special favourite of Tolkien's.The three translations represent the complete rhymTrade Review‘The introduction to Gawain is a little masterpiece.’Times Higher Educational Supplement ‘This magnificent Arthurian tale of love, sex, honour, social tact, personal integrity and folk-magic is one of the greatest and most approachable narrative poems in the language. Tolkien’s version makes it come triumphantly alive, a moving and consoling elegy.’Birmingham Post

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Book SynopsisThe world has reopened and so has the Poetry Pharmacy: the powerful final instalment in the hugely beloved seriesAfter the tumult of the last years, William Sieghart is back to prescribe the perfect poem for a variety of life''s ailments, offering hope and comfort to readers in need. Here, he draws on the emails he received from the public during multiple lockdowns, as well as tried-and-true classics from his in-person pharmacies, to create an essential anthology of poetry for our times. Through his expert curation and insightful commentary, he reminds us of the power of words to help us heal, to reconnect us with the world and to recover what has been lost.From weathering sorrow and sudden loss, to dealing with environmental despair and burnout, this new selection speaks directly to a society in urgent need of comfort and compassion. Whether you''re searching for guidance, hope, or simply a moment of beauty, The Poetry Pharmacy Forever is here to provide solace, joy and inspiration, one verse at a time.

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Paul Wright. 'What the imagination seizes as Beauty must be truth' So wrote the Romantic poet John Keats (1795-1821) in 1817. This collection contains all of his poetry: the early work, which is often undervalued even today, the poems on which his reputation rests including the 'Odes' and the two versions of the uncompleted epic 'Hyperion', and work which only came to light after his death including his attempts at drama and comic verse. It all demonstrates the extent to which he tested his own dictum throughout his short creative life. That life spanned one of the most remarkable periods in English history in the aftermath of the French Revolution and this collection, with its detailed introductions and notes, aims to place the poems very much in their context. The collection is ample proof that Keats deservedly achieved his wish to 'be among the English Poets after my death'

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Book SynopsisAs well as being one of the major literary figures of the twentieth century and the recipient of the 1923 Nobel Prize for Literature, William Butler Yeats (1865-1939) is the greatest lyric poet that Ireland has produced.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features an illuminating introduction by author and academic Dr Robert Mighall.Yeats’ early work includes the beguiling 'When You are Old', 'The Cloths of Heaven' and 'The Lake Isle of Innisfree' but, unusually for a poet, Yeats's later works, including 'Parnell's Funeral', surpass even those of his youth. All are present in this volume, which reproduces the 1933 edition of W. B. Yeats's Collected Poems.Trade ReviewIt is universally agreed that Yeats became a great poet -- Denis Donoghue * The Irish Times *“The Second Coming” is proof that a perfect poem can still go viral in a distinctly predigital way: that it’s become a part of the culture’s water supply -- Nick Tabor * The Paris Review *

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction, Bibliography and Glossary by Dr Paul Wright, Trinity College, Carmarthen. 'I mean to show things really as they are, not as they ought to be'. wrote Byron (1788-1824) in his comic masterpiece Don Juan, which follows the adventures of the hero across the Europe and near East which Byron knew so well, touching on the major political, cultural and social concerns of the day. This selection includes all of that poem, and selections from Childe Harold's Pilgrimage, and the satirical poems 'English Bards and Scotch Reviewers' and 'A Vision of Judgement'. Paul Wright's detailed introductions place Byron's colourful life and work within their broader social and political contexts, and demonstrate that Byron both fostered and critiqued the notorious 'Byronic myth' of heroic adventure, political action and sexual scandal.

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Book SynopsisIntroduction, Notes and Bibliography by Dr Bruce Woodcock, Senior Lecturer in English, University of Hull. William Blake was an engraver, painter and visionary mystic as well as one of the most revolutionary of the Romantic poets. His writing attracted the astonished admiration of authors as diverse as Wordsworth, Ruskin, W.B.Yeats, and more recently beat poet Allen Ginsberg and the 'flower power' generation. He is one of England's most original artists whose works aim to liberate imaginative energies and subvert 'the mind-forged manacles' of restriction. This volume contains many of his writings, including: 'Songs of Innocence', 'Songs of Experience', 'The Marriage of Heaven and Hell', and a generous selection from the Prophetic Books including 'Milton' and 'Jerusalem'.

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Book SynopsisDiscover Dancing by the Light of the Moon, a collection of poetry to last you a lifetime - poems that will bring you joy, solace, celebration and love for every occasion''Gyles has discovered the secret of finding happiness'' DAME JUDI DENCHIncludes an updated chapter of poems to bring you hope and happiness this year _______ A POEM CAN . . . Comfort Challenge Be a friend Stretch your vocabulary Help you sleep Break the ice Find you a lover Be utter nonsense Console Make you laugh - or cry For every moment in your life there is a poem.In Dancing by the Light of the Moon we have a remarkable collection of over 250 best-loved poems in the English-speaking world.Allow Gyles Brandreth to be your guide to not only the wonders of poetry - and there are many - but also its practical uses in everyday liTrade ReviewTo instil a love of literature, a copy of Dancing by the Light of the Moon ought to find its way into every home in the land * Daily Mail, Book of the Week *Gyles has discovered the secret of finding happiness through learning poetry by heart. It's wonderful and so much fun -- Dame Judi DenchBrandreth provides over 400 pages of top-notch poems by everyone from Shakespeare to Simon Armitage. But his mission is to get you learning the poems by heart * Mail Online *Gyles Brandreth has compiled a collection of 250 poems that he believes will transform your memory and change your life. I couldn't agree me -- Dr Max Pemberton * Daily Mail *This compendium is an enthusiastic and emphatic call to appreciate all forms of poetry * Radio Times *A celebration of poetry packed full of wonderful verses * Planet Mindful *A passionate and rousing manifesto on the power and pleasure of learning poetry by heart * Optima *For a poem fitting for every occasion, make sure you add this book to your shopping cart ASAP * Glamour UK *

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Book SynopsisExplore the essence of life, love, nature, and time in exquisite verse with this elegantly designed edition of Emily Dickinson’s finest poems. Born in 1830 in Amherst, Massachusetts, to a prominent New England family and educated at Amherst Academy and Mt. Holyoke Female Seminary, Emily Elizabeth Dickinson lived most of her life in seclusion, devoted to writing. She scarcely left home, nor did she have many visitors. Only ten of her poems were published in her lifetime, submitted without her permission by friends. It was only after her death in 1886 that the scope of her work as a poet came to light—over 1,700 poems were discovered in a dresser drawer by her sister, Lavinia. Emily Dickinson’s poems reflect her loneliness, as well as her love of nature, the influence of the Metaphysical poets of seventeenth century England, and her strong Puritan religious beliefs. Yet, it is her use of language, form, and the deceptive simplicity of her verse that categorize her as an important force in nineteenth century American letters and, along with Walt Whitman, a founder of a distinctly American voice in modern poetry. PRELUDE THIS is my letter to the world, That never wrote to me,— That simple news that Nature told, With tender majesty. Her message is committed To hands I cannot see; For love of her, sweet countrymen, Judge tenderly of me! The Timeless Classics series from Rock Point brings together the works of classic authors from around the world. Complete and unabridged, these elegantly designed gift editions feature luxe, patterned endpapers, ribbon markers, and foil and deboss details on vibrantly colored cases. Celebrate these beloved works of literature as true standouts in your personal library collection. Table of ContentsContents introduction xxvii poems. 1890. prelude book i. life. success “our share of the night to bear. . .” rouge et noir rouge gagne “glee! the great storm is over. . .” “if i can stop one heart from breaking. . .” almost! “a wounded dear leaps highest. . .” “the heart asks pleasure first. . .” in a library “much madness is divinest sense. . .” “i asked no other thing. . .” exclusion the secret the lonely house “to fight aloud is very brave. . .” dawn the book of martyrs the mystery of pain “i taste a liquor never brewed. . .” a book “i had no time to hate, because. . .” unreturning “whether my bark went down at sea. . .” “belshazzar had a letter. . .” “the brain within its groove. . .” book ii. love. mine bequest “alter? when the hills do. . .” suspense surrender “if you were coming in the fall. . .” with a flower proof “have you got a brook in your little heart?” transplanted the outlet in vain renunciation love’s baptism resurrection apocalypse the wife apotheosis book iii. nature. “new feet within my garden go. . .” may-flower why? “perhaps you’d like to buy a flower. . .” “the pedigree of honey. . .” a service of song “the bee is not afraid of me. . .” summer’s armies the grass “a little road not made of man. . .” summer shower psalm of the day the sea of sunset purple clover the bee “presentiment is that long shadow on the lawn. . .” “as children bid the guest good-night. . .” “angels in the early morning. . .” “so bashful when i spied her. . .” two worlds the mountain a day “the butterfly’s assumption-gown. . .” the wind death and life “’twas later when the summer went. . .” indian summer autumn beclouded the hemlock “there’s a certain slant of light. . .” book iv. time and eternity. “one dignity delays for all. . .” too late astra castra “safe in their alabaster chambers. . .” “on this long storm the rainbow rose. . .” from the chrysalis setting sail “look back on time with kindly eyes. . .” “a train went through a burial gate. . .” “i died for beauty, but was scarce. . .” troubled about many things real the funeral “i went to thank her. . .” “i’ve seen a dying eye. . .” refuge “i never saw a moor. . .” playmates “to know just how he suffered would be dear. . .” “the last night that she lived. . .” the first lesson “the bustle in a house. . .” “i reason, earth is short. . .” “afraid? of whom am i afraid?” dying “two swimmers wrestled on the spar. . .” the chariot “she went as quiet as the dew. . .” resurgam “except to heaven she is nought. . .” “death is a dialogue between. . .” “it was too late for man. . .” along the potomac “the daisy follows soft the sun. . .” emancipation lost “if i shouldn’t be alive. . .” “sleep is supposed to be. . .” “i shall know why when time is over. . .” “i never lost as much but twice. . .” poems. 1891. “my nosegays are for captives. . .” book i. life. “i’m nobody! who are you?” “i bring an unaccustomed wine. . .” “the nearest dream recedes, unrealized. . .” “we play at paste. . .” “i found the phrase to every thought. . .” hope the white heat triumph the test escape compensation the martyrs a prayer “the thought beneath so slight a film. . .” “the soul unto itself. . .” “surgeons must be very careful. . .” the railway train the show “delight becomes pictorial. . .” “a thought went up my mind today. . .” “is heaven a physician?” the return “a poor torn heart, a tattered heart. . .” too much shipwreck “victory comes late. . .” enough “experiment to me. . .” my country’s wardrobe “faith is fine invention. . .” “except the heaven had come so near. . .” “portraits are to daily faces. . .” the duel “a shady friend for torrid days. . .” the goal sight “talk with prudence to a beggar. . .” the preacher “good night! which put the candle out?” “when i hoped i feared. . .” deed time’s lesson remorse the shelter “undue significance a starving man attaches. . .” “heart not so heavy as mine. . .” “i many times thought peace had come. . .” “unto my books so good to turn. . .” “this merit hath the worst. . .” hunger “i gained it so. . .” “to learn the transport by the pain. . .” returning prayer “i know that he exists. . .” melodies unheard called back book ii. love. choice “i have no life but this. . .” “your riches taught me poverty. . .” the contract the letter “the way i read a letter’s this. . .” “wild nights! wild nights!” at home 89 possession “a charm invests a face. . .” the lovers “in lands i never saw, they say. . .” “the moon is distant from the sea. . .” “he put the belt around my life. . .” the lost jewel “what if i say i shall not wait?” book iii. nature. mother nature out of the morning “at half-past three a single bird. . .” day’s parlor the sun’s wooing the robin the butterfly’s day the bluebird april the sleeping flowers my rose the oriole’s secret the oriole in shadow the humming-bird secrets “who robbed the woods. . .” two voyagers by the sea old-fashioned a tempest the sea in the garden the snake the mushroom the storm the spider “i know a place where summer strives. . .” “the one that could repeat the summer day. . .” the wind’s visit “nature, rarer uses yellow. . .” gossip simplicity storm the rat “frequently the woods are pink. . .” a thunder-storm with flowers sunset “she sweeps with many-colored brooms. . .” “like mighty footlights burned the red. . .” problems the juggler of day my cricket “as imperceptibly as grief. . .” “it can’t be summer,—that got through. . .” summer’s obsequies fringed gentian november the snow the bluejay book iv. time and eternity. “let down the bars, o death!” “going to heaven!” “at least to pray is left, is left. . .” epitaph “morns like these we parted. . .” “a death-blow is a life-blow to some. . .” “i read my sentence steadily. . .” “i have not told my garden yet. . .” the battle-field “the only ghost i ever saw. . .” “some, too fragile for winter winds. . .” “as by the dead we love to sit. . .” memorials “i went to heaven. . .” “their height in heaven comforts not. . .” “there is a shame of nobleness. . .” triumph “pompless no life can pass away. . .” “i noticed people disappeared. . .” following “if anybody’s friend be dead. . .” the journey a country burial going “essential oils are wrung. . .” “i lived on dread; to those who know. . .” “if i should die. . .” at length ghosts vanished precedence gone requiem “what inn is this. . .” “it was not death, for i stood up. . .” till the end void “a throe upon the features. . .” saved! “i think just how my shape will rise. . .” the forgotten grave “lay this laurel on the one. . .” poems. 1896. “’tis all i have to bring today. . .” book i. life. real riches superiority to fate hope forbidden fruit (i) forbidden fruit (ii) a word “to venerate the simple days. . .” life’s trades “drowning is not so pitiful. . .” “how still the bells in steeples stand. . .” “if the foolish call them ‘flowers’. . .” a syllable parting aspiration the inevitable a book “who has not found the heaven below. . .” a portrait i had a guinea golden saturday afternoon “few get enough,—enough is one. . .” “upon the gallows hung a wretch. . .” the lost thought reticence with flowers “the farthest thunder that i heard. . .” “on the bleakness of my lot. . .” contrast friends fire a man ventures griefs “i have a king who does not speak. . .” disenchantment lost faith lost joy “i worked for chaff, and earning wheat. . .” “life, and death, and giants. . .” alpine glow remembrance “to hang our head ostensibly. . .” the brain “the bone that has no marrow. . .” the past “to help our bleaker parts. . .” “what soft, cherubic creatures. . .” desire philosophy power “a modest lot, a fame petite. . .” “in bliss, then, such abyss. . .” experience thanksgiving day childish griefs book ii. love. consecration love’s humility love satisfied with a flower song loyalty “to lose thee, sweeter than to gain. . .” “poor little heart!” forgotten “i’ve got an arrow here. . .” the master “heart, we will forget him!” “father, i bring thee not myself. . .” “we outgrow love like other things. . .” “not with a club the heart is broken. . .” who? “he touched me, so i live to know. . .” dreams numen lumen longing wedded book iii. nature. nature’s changes the tulip “a light exists in spring. . .” the waking year to march march dawn “a murmur in the trees to note. . .” “morning is the place for dew. . .” “to my quick ear the leaves conferred. . .” a rose “high from the earth i heard a bird. . .” cobwebs a well “to make a prairie it takes a clover. . .” the wind “a dew sufficed itself. . .” the woodpecker a snake “could i but ride indefinite. . .” the moon the bat the balloon evening cocoon sunset aurora the coming of night aftermath book iv. time and eternity. “this world is not conclusion. . .” “we learn in the retreating. . .” “they say that ‘time assuages’. . .” “we cover thee, sweet face. . .” “that is solemn we have ended. . .” “the stimulus, beyond the grave. . .” “given in marriage unto thee. . .” “that such have died enables us. . .” “they won’t frown always,—some sweet day. . .” immortality “the distance that the dead have gone. . .” “how dare the robins sing. . .” death unwarned “each that we lose takes part of us. . .” “not any higher stands the grave. . .” asleep the spirit the monument “bless god, he went as soldiers. . .” “immortal is an ample word. . .” “where every bird is bold to go. . .” “the grave my little cottage is. . .” “this was in the white of the year. . .” “sweet hours have perished here. . .” “me! come! my dazzled face. . .” invisible “i wish i knew that woman’s name. . .” trying to forget “i felt a funeral in my brain. . .” “i meant to find her when i came. . .” waiting “a sickness of this world it most occasions. . .” “superfluous were the sun. . .” “so proud she was to die. . .” farewell “the dying need but little, dear. . .” dead “the soul should always stand ajar. . .” “three weeks passed since i had seen her. . . “i breathed enough to learn the trick. . .” “i wonder if the sepulchre. . .” joy in death “if i may have it when it’s dead. . .” “before the ice is in the pools. . .” dying “adrift! a little boat adrift!” “there’s been a death in the opposite house. . .” “we never know we go,—when we are going. . .” the soul’s storm “water is taught by thirst. . .” thirst “a clock stopped—not the mantel’s. . .” charlotte brontë’s grave “a toad can die of light. . .” “far from love the heavenly father. . .” sleeping retrospect eternity

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction by Antonia Till. William Wordsworth (1771-1850) is the foremost of the English Romantic poets. He was much influenced by the events of the French Revolution in his youth, and he deliberately broke away from the artificial diction of the Augustan and neo-classical tradition of the eighteenth century. He sought to write in the language of ordinary men and women, of ordinary thoughts, sights and sounds, and his early poetry represents this fresh approach to his art. Wordsworth spent most of his adult life in the Lake District with his sister Dorothy and his wife Mary, by whom he had four children. His remarkable autobiographical poem 'The Prelude' was completed in 1805, but was not published until after his death, and it is included in this full edition of Wordsworth's poetry.

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Book SynopsisA selection of Keats's greatest poemsOver the course of his short life, John Keats (1795-1821) honed a raw talent into a brilliant poetic maturity. By the end of his brief career, he had written poems of such beauty, imagination and generosity of spirit, that he had - unwittingly - fulfilled his wish that he should ‘be among the English poets after my death’. This wide-ranging selection of Keats’s poetry contains youthful verse, such as his earliest known poem ‘Imitation of Spenser’; poems from his celebrated collection of 1820 - including ‘Lamia’, ‘Isabella’, ‘The Eve of St Agnes’, ‘Ode to a Nightingale’ and ‘Hyperion’ - and later celebrated works such as ‘La Belle Dame sans Merci’. Also included are many poems considered by Keats to be lesser work, but which illustrate his more earthy, playful side and superb ear for everyday language.For more than seventy year

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Book SynopsisJudicially condemned in 1857 as offensive to public morality, The Flowers of Evil is now regarded as the most influential volume of poetry published in the nineteenth century. Torn between intense sensuality and profound spiritual yearning, racked by debt and disease, Baudelaire transformed his own experience of Parisian life into a work of universal significance. With his unflinching examination of the dark aspects and unconventional manifestations of sexuality, his pioneering portrayal of life in agreat metropolis and his daring combination of the lyrical and the prosaic, Baudelaire inaugurated a new epoch in poetry and created a founding text of modernism.Anthony Mortimer, already praised for his virtuoso translations of Petrarch, Dante and Villon, has produced a new version that not only respects the sense and the form of the original French, but also makes powerful English poetry in its own right. Presented here in a dual-language edition, with extra material, notes and bibliography.Trade Review"Need I tell you that in this terrible book I have put all my heart, all my tenderness, all my religion (disguised), all my hatred? It is true that I shall write the opposite, that I shall swear by all the gods that it is a work of pure art, of mimicry, of mere dexterity - and I shall be lying through my teeth." - Charles Baudelaire"Baudelaire is indeed the greatest exemplar in modern poetry in any language, for his verse and language is the nearest thing to a complete renovation that we have experienced." - T.S. Eliot"The translations are very good indeed" - John Banville"The best way yet for us to enter the poet's dream-like world, producing, as his title says, beauty from the sordid world around him" - Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian"This should be read by any poetry lover" - Bill Spence, Yorkshire Gazette & Herald Need I tell you that in this terrible book I have put all my heart, all my tenderness, all my religion (disguised), all my hatred? It is true that I shall write the opposite, that I shall swear by all the gods that it is a work of pure art, of mimicry, of mere dexterity and I shall be lying through my teeth. - Charles Baudelaire Baudelaire is indeed the greatest exemplar in modern poetry in any language, for his verse and language is the nearest thing to a complete renovation that we have experienced. - T.S. Eliot The translations are very good indeed - John Banville The best way yet for us to enter the poet s dream-like world, producing, as his title says, beauty from the sordid world around him - Nicholas Lezard, The Guardian This should be read by any poetry lover - Bill Spence, Yorkshire Gazette & Herald"

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction, Bibliography and Glossary by Michael Irwin, Professor of English Literature University of Kent at Canterbury. Thomas Hardy started composing poetry in the heyday of Tennyson and Browning. He was still writing with unimpaired power sixty years later, when Eliot and Yeats were the leading names in the field. His extraordinary stamina and a consistent individuality of style and vision made him a survivor, immune to literary fashion. At the start of the twenty-first century his reputation stands higher than it ever did, even in his own lifetime. He is now recognised not only as a great poet, but as one who is widely loved. He speaks with directness, humanity and humour to scholarly or ordinary readers alike.

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Book SynopsisShakespeare's Sonnets are among the most lyrical and moving pieces of poetry in any language, abounding with examples of his genius for wordplay, rhythm and metaphor and dealing with the eternal themes of love, memory, beauty and the ravishes of time. First published in 1609, after Shakespeare had written many of his most famous works, the Sonnets have been the subject of literary curiosity ever since, mainly concerning the identity of the two addressees, `Mr W.H.' and the `Dark Lady', and the light they could shine on Shakespeare's life. This collection constitutes one of English literature's most profound poetic meditations on life and love, and is a vital complement to the plays, offering clues to Shakespeare's own biography. Presented here in an edition that makes them accessible to twentieth-century readers, these poems are worth returning to again and again.

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Book Synopsis"The poems of the Poetic Edda have waited a long time for a Modern English translation that would do them justice. Here it is at last (Odin be praised!) and well worth the wait. These amazing texts from a 13th-century Icelandic manuscript are of huge historical, mythological and literary importance, containing the lion's share of information that survives today about the gods and heroes of pre-Christian Scandinavians, their unique vision of the beginning and end of the world, etc. Jackson Crawford's modern versions of these poems are authoritative and fluent and often very gripping. With their individual headnotes and complementary general introduction, they supply today's readers with most of what they need to know in order to understand and appreciate the beliefs, motivations, and values of the Vikings."—Dick Ringler, Professor Emeritus of English and Scandinavian Studies at the University of Wisconsin–MadisonTrade Review"An excellent and entertaining work that succeeds in achieving its intended purpose: to create an accessible and readable English translation of the Poetic Edda. Crawford's knowledge of and passion for the topic is clear throughout, and he strikes an excellent balance between approachability and authenticity. I will most certainly be using this translation when I teach Norse mythology in the future and will recommend it to anyone looking for an approachable introduction to the subject."—Natalie M. Van Deusen, University of Alberta, in Scandinavian-Canadian Studies"Crawford's Edda is easy to pick up and read. Commentary is minimal but useful, and the verse itself is presented in a visually clear style. A published poet in his own right, Crawford renders his translation in a modest, cautiously elegant free verse with a rigorous consistency that gives the material fluency impossible in a translation reflecting the original Old Norse syntax. Crawford's sense of rhythm is perhaps his strongest suit here, contributing significantly to the readability of the verse. The diction is simple and clear. . . . [Crawford's verse has] a conservative sparseness that often comes close to echoing the terseness of the Old Norse Eddic metres.” —Pete Sandberg, University College London, in Saga-Book

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction, Notes and Bibliography by Dr Bruce Woodcock, Senior Lecturer in English, University of Hull. Shelley's short, prolific life produced some of the most memorable and well-known lyrics of the Romantic period. But he was also the most radical writer in the English literary tradition of his day, a fiery political visionary committed to social change and progress. The generous selection in this volume represents the wide range of his writing, both poetry and prose. Arranged chronologically, the accompanying introductory essays set Shelley's works in their historical, social and political context. They provide a vivid insight into the life and times of this volcanic spirit whose inspiring voice called on the people of England to: ‘Rise like lions after slumber In unvanquishable number; Shake your chains to earth like dew Which in sleep had fallen on you. Ye are many, they are few.’ (The Mask of Anarchy)

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Book Synopsis''The Faber Book of Beasts is a generous and intelligent round- up of old favourites, new juxtapositions, and poems we mightn''t know about ... Will set heads shaking, as well as nodding with pleasure.'' Independent William Wordsworth''s ''To a Skylark''W.B. Yeats'' ''Leda and the Swan''Elizabeth Bishop''s ''The Moose''D.H. Lawrence''s ''Bat''Marianne Moore''s ''Elephants''William Blake''s ''The Tyger'' Gerard Manley Hopkins'' ''The Windhover''Thom Gunn''s ''The Snail''Seamus Heaney''s ''Otter''John Donne''s ''The Flea''Christopher Smart''s ''My Cat Jeoffry''''Baa Baa Black Sheep'' From childhood rhymes to canonical classics, Homer to Ted Hughes, this eclectic poetry anthology celebrating the earth''s creatures brims with beastly delights. Celebrated poet Paul Muldoon''s bestiary shows that we are ''most human in the pre

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Book SynopsisAssembling at the Tabard Inn in Southwark, twenty-nine pilgrims begin their journey to Canterbury Cathedral. To entertain themselves on their long road, their host suggests that they regale each other with stories, with the teller of the best tale set to earn a free supper. The pilgrims correspond to all sections of medieval society, from the crusading knight to the drunken cook, and their tales span a range of genres, including the comic ribaldry and deception of `The Miller's Tale' and the story of chivalry and courtly romance told by the Franklin. Unfinished at the time of his death, The Canterbury Tales are here presented in their original Middle-English. This edition contains a wealth of material and over 3,000 notes which will help all students of Chaucer's masterpiece.Trade Review…that I may dare, in wayfaring To stammer where old Chaucer used to sing. -- John Keats, Endymion

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Book SynopsisLeaves of Grass is Walt Whitman’s glorious poetry collection, first published in 1855, which he revised and expanded throughout his lifetime. It was ground-breaking in its subject matter and in its direct, unembellished style. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, clothbound, pocket sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited and introduced by Professor Bridget Bennett.Whitman wrote about the United States and its people, its revolutionary spirit and about democracy. He wrote openly about the body and about desire in a way that completely broke with convention and which paved the way for a completely new kind of poetry. This new collection is taken from the final version, the Deathbed edition, and it includes his most famous poems such as ‘Song of Myself’ and ‘I Sing the Body Electric’.Trade ReviewThere is no one in this great wide world of America whom I love and honour so much -- Oscar WildeI am not blind to the worth of the wonderful gift of Leaves of Grass. I find it the most extraordinary piece of wit and wisdom that America has ever produced -- Ralph Waldo EmersonWhitman, the great poet, has meant so much to me. Whitman the one man breaking a way ahead. Whitman the one pioneer . . . Ahead of Whitman, nothing. Ahead of all poets, pioneering into the wilderness of unopened life, Whitman. Beyond him, none -- D. H. LawrenceHis [Whitman’s] Song of Himself was a song for humanity, too. And in spite of all that has happened since, it still echoes here * Independent *Whitman had a fluid personality that made him able to “merge” invisibly, and with great empathy, with the images of other people and events that lodged in his mind . . . unprecedented assembling of rhythm, sound, language and images * New York Times *[Leaves of Grass is] more about the pandemic of possibility, a fever rush of extraordinary beauty in the face of all the available evidence. -- Colum McCann * The Week *Table of ContentsIntroduction - i: Introduction Unit - 1: Inscriptions Chapter - 1: To Foreign Lands Chapter - 2: Song of Myself Chapter - 3: When I Read The Book Chapter - 4: To The States Chapter - 4: Shut Not Your Doors Unit - 2: Children of Adam Chapter - 1: I Sing the Body Electric Chapter - 2: A Woman Waits for Me Unit - 3: Calamus Chapter - 1: In Paths Untrodden Chapter - 2: Scented Herbage of my Breast Chapter - 3: Whoever You are Holding Me Now in Hand Chapter - 4: For You O Democracy Chapter - 5: The Base of All Metaphysics Chapter - 6: Recorders Ages Hence Chapter - 7: When I Heard at the Close of Day Chapter - 8: Are You the New Person Drawn toward Me Chapter - 9: I Saw in Louisiana a Live-Oak Growing Chapter - 10: To a Stranger Chapter - 11: This Moment Yearning and Thoughtful Chapter - 12: I Hear it was Charged Against Me Chapter - 13: When I Peruse the Conquer'd Flame Chapter - 14: We Two Boys together Clinging Chapter - 15: No Labor-Saving Machine Chapter - 16: A Glimpse Chapter - 17: What Think You I Take Pen in Hand? Chapter - 18: Sometimes with One I Love Chapter - 19: Song of the Open Road Chapter - 20: Crossing Brooklyn Ferry Unit - 4: Birds of Passage Chapter - 1: Pioneers! O Pioneers! Unit - 5: Sea Drift Chapter - 1: Out of the Cradle Endlessly Rocking Unit - 6: By the Roadside Chapter - 1: When I Heard the Learn'd Astronomer Unit - 7: Drum Taps Chapter - 1: Beat! Beat! Drums! Chapter - 2: Vigil Strange I Kept on the Field One Night Chapter - 3: The Wound-Dresser Chapter - 4: The Artilleryman's Vision Chapter - 5: O Tan-Faced Prairie Boy Chapter - 6: How Solemn as One by One Chapter - 7: As I Lay with My Head in Your Lap Camerado Chapter - 8: Spirit Whose Work is Done Unit - 8: Memoirs of President Lincoln Chapter - 1: When Lilacs Last in the Dooryard Bloom'd Chapter - 2: O Captain! My Captain! Chapter - 3: Hush'd be the Camps To-day Chapter - 4: By Blue Ontario's Shores Unit - 9: Autumn Rivulets Chapter - 1: There was a Child went Forth Chapter - 2: The City Dead-House Chapter - 3: Passage to India Chapter - 4: Prayer of Columbus Chapter - 5: The Sleepers Unit - 10: Whispers of Heavenly Death Chapter - 1: A Noiseless Patient Spider Unit - 11: From Noon to Starry Night Chapter - 1: The Mystic Trumpeter Unit - 12: Annex to Sands at Seventy Chapter - 1: As I Sit Writing Here Chapter - 2: Queries to My Seventieth Year Chapter - 3: Old Salt Kossabone Index - ii: Index of Poem Titles Index - iii: Index of First Lines

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Book SynopsisA new collectable edition of Poe's poetry which demonstrates his skilful and imaginative command of the English language. Often regarded as the founder of the modern short story Poe also laid the foundations for the symbolist poets and futurists of the 20th Century, his razor-sharp dissections of the world offering dark romantic notions to the reader. Little treasures, the FLAME TREE COLLECTABLE CLASSICS are chosen to create a delightful and timeless home library. Each stunning, gift edition features deluxe cover treatments, ribbon markers, luxury endpapers and gilded edges. The original text is accompanied by a Glossary of Victorian and Literary terms produced for the modern reader.

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Book SynopsisSelected by Rosemary Gray. Poignant, wry, chilling, challenging, amusing, thought-provoking and always intriguing, these accomplished tales from the pens of great writers are object-lessons in the art of creating a literary masterpiece on a small canvas. From the straightforwardly anecdotal to the more analytical of human behaviour, all are guaranteed to capture the imagination, stir the emotions, linger in the memory and whet the reader's appetite for more. In this book, Wordsworth Editions presents the modern reader with a rich variety of short stories by a host of towering literary figures ranging from Arnold Bennett to Virginia Woolf. This disparate and distinguished company of writers has rarely - if ever - met within the pages of one volume: the result is a positive feast.

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Book Synopsis'Gripping ... A remarkable achievement' TLS On his deathbed in 19 BCE, Vergil asked that his epic, the Aeneid, be burned. If his wishes had been obeyed, western literature - maybe even western civilization - might have taken a different course. The Aeneid has remained a foundational text since the rise of universities, and has been invoked at key points of human history - whether by Saint Augustine to illustrate the fallen nature of the soul, by settlers to justify manifest destiny in North America, or by Mussolini in support of his Fascist regime. In this fresh and fast-paced translation of the Aeneid, Shadi Bartsch brings the poem to the modern reader. Along with the translation, her introduction will guide the reader to a deeper understanding of the epic's enduring influence.Trade ReviewGripping ... A remarkable achievement -- Llewelyn Morgan * TLS *This ambitious and successful translation is probably the best version of the Aeneid in modern English -- Professor Jim O'Hara, George L. Paddison Professor of Latin University of North CarolinaA tight, readable translation with a welcome feminist outlook and savvy engagement with the poem's political and imperial themes -- Ada Palmer, author * Reading Lucretius in the Renaissance *

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Book SynopsisHand in Hand with Love is a celebration of queer voices throughout the ages. Spanning from Sappho and the Ancient Greeks to Edna St. Vincent Millay and the modernists, this luminous anthology champions and redefines the spectrum of queer poetry.Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, cloth-bound, pocket-sized classics with gold foiled edges and ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition is edited by Dr Simon Avery, a specialist in queer history and culture at the University of Westminster.Featuring visionary writers whose only space to express their intimate thoughts was on the page, pioneering poets who battled prejudice to be bold and forthright, and an electrifying range of famous authors such as Walt Whitman, Emily Dickinson and Oscar Wilde, these dynamic voices paved the way for decades to come. Together, they offer a vivid archive of queer identity to be celebrated, discovered and treasured.

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Book SynopsisThe undisputed pioneer of the horror, detective and science-fiction genres, Edgar Allan Poe was an accomplished poet as well as a celebrated writer of short stories. The present edition contains all of his works in verse, from the major poems of his maturity – such as his famous ballads ‘The Raven’ and ‘Lenore’ – to those he published in his youth and those that were collected immediately after his premature death in 1849. Also included in this volume is a selection of Poe’s essays on poetical composition and prosody, revealing that poetry was at the core of the American master’s vision of literature – something also demonstrated by the significant and enduring body of work he left behind in this field.

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Book SynopsisIntroduction and Notes by R.T. Jones, Honorary Fellow of the University of York. This edition of the poetry of Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936) includes all the poems contained in the Definitive Edition of 1940. In his lifetime, Kipling was widely regarded as the unofficial Poet Laureate, and he was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1907. His poetry is striking for its many rhythms and popular forms of speech, and Kipling was equally at home with dramatic monologues and extended ballads. He is often thought of as glorifying war, militarism, and the British Empire, but an attentive reading of the poems does not confirm that view. This edition reprints George Orwell's hard-hitting account of Kipling's poems, first published in 1942, and generally regarded as one of the most important contributions to critical discussion of Kipling.

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Book SynopsisIn the twenty-one poems of the Heroides, Ovid gave voice to the heroines and heroes of epic and myth. These deeply moving literary epistles reveal the happiness and torment of love, as the writers tell of their pain at separation, forgiveness of infidelity or anger at betrayal. The faithful Penelope wonders at the suspiciously long absence of Ulysses, while Dido bitterly reproaches Aeneas for too eagerly leaving her bed to follow his destiny, and Sappho—the only historical figure portrayed here—describes her passion for the cruelly rejecting Phaon. In the poetic letters between Paris and Helen the lovers seem oblivious to the tragedy prophesied for them, while in another exchange the youthful Leander asserts his foolhardy eagerness to risk his life to be with his beloved Hero.For more than seventy years, Penguin has been the leading publisher of classic literature in the English-speaking world. With more than 1,700 titles, Penguin Classics represents a gTable of ContentsHeroidesIntroductionI: Penelope to UlyssesII: Phyllis to DemophoonIII: Briseis to AchillesIV: Phaedra to HippolytusV: Oenone to ParisVI: Hypsipyle to JasonVII: Dido to AeneasVIII: Hermione to OrestesIX: Deianira to HerculesX: Ariadne to TheseusXI: Canace to MacareusXII: Medea to JasonXIII: Laodamia to ProtesilausXIV: Hypermestra to LynceusXV: Sappho to PhaonXVI: Paris to HelenXVII: Helen to ParisXVIII: Leander to HeroXIX: Hero to LeanderXX: Acontius to CydippeXXI: Cydippe to AcontiusAppendix 1: Principal CharactersAppendix 2: Index of Names

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Book Synopsis101 classic poems that every child should read, from Tennyson, Keats,Wordsworth, Edward Lear, Emily Dickinson, Shakespeare and manymore!

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Book SynopsisDante’s dramatic journey through the circles of hell in search of redemption – and his encounter with devils, monsters and the souls of some of the greatest sinners who ever walked on earth – is one of the cornerstones of Western literature, the summit of medieval thinking and arguably the highest poetic achievement of all time. Inferno, the first part of Dante’s Comedy, is presented here in a new verse translation by acclaimed poet and prize-winning translator J.G. Nichols, together with the original text facing, extensive notes, illustrations and a critical apparatus focusing on the author’s life and works.Trade ReviewBravo for this new version of Dante... Bravo, Professor Nichols! * The Church Times *All life is written in Dante's burning pages, and Nichols has done him proud. -- Ian Thomson * The Observer *For sheer liveliness, combined with accuracy and closeness to the text, it will be hard to rival. -- A.N. WilsonThis new translation by J.G. Nichols, clearly grounded in a secure knowledge of and familiarity with Dante and in English verse which is rarely less than competently handled, is one that deserves to be taken seriously and will reward any reader who makes his first encounter with Dante through it. It is an intelligent and sophisticated piece of work. * Acumen Literary Journal *Dante is my spiritual food. -- James Joyce

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Book SynopsisThe great work of Welsh literature, translated in full for the first time in more than 100 years by two of its country's foremost poetsA Penguin ClassicTennyson portrayed him, and wrote at least one poem under his name. Robert Graves was fascinated by what he saw as his work's connection to a lost world of deeply buried folkloric memory. He is a shapeshifter; a seer; a chronicler of battles fought, by sword and with magic, between the ancient kingdoms of the British Isles; a bridge between old Welsh mythologies and the new Christian theology; a sixth-century Brythonic bard; and a legendary collective project spanning the centuries up to The Book of Taliesin's compilation in fourteenth-century North Wales. He is, above all, no single he.The figure of Taliesin is a mystery. But of the variety and quality of the poems written under his sign, of their power as exemplars of the force of ecstatic poetic imagination, and of the fascinating window they off

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Book SynopsisTaking its inspiration from Shakespeare's idea of the seven ages of a human life, this new anthology brings together the best-loved poems in English to inspire, comfort and delight readers for a lifetime. Beginning with babies, the book is divided into sections on childhood, growing up, making a living and making love, family life, getting older, and approaching death, ending with poems of mourning and commemoration.Ranging from Chaucer to Carol Ann Duffy, via Shakespeare, Keats, and Lemn Sissay, this book offers something for each of those moments in life whether falling in love, finding your first grey hair or saying your final goodbyes when only a poem will do.

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Book SynopsisWith an Introduction and Notes by David Ellis, University of Kent at Canterbury. Lawrence's reputation as a novelist has often meant that his achievements in poetry have failed to receive the recognition they deserve. This edition brings together, in a form he himself sanctioned, his Collected Poems of 1928, the unexpurgated version of Pansies, and Nettles, adding to these volumes the contents of the two notebooks in which he was still writing poetry when he died in 1930. It therefore allows the reader to trace the development of Lawrence as a poet and appreciate the remarkable originality and distinctiveness of his achievement. Not all the poems reprinted here are masterpieces but there is more than enough quality to confirm Lawrence's status as one of the greatest English writers of the twentieth century.

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Book SynopsisHarperCollins is proud to present its incredible range of best-loved, essential classics.Instead of the cross, the AlbatrossAbout my neck was hung'When an albatross leads a stricken ship out of treacherous ice, a hapless mariner shoots the bird, arousing the wrath of spirits who pursue the ship. Haunted by Death, the crew begin to perish one by one, until only the cursed mariner remains to confront his guilt. As penance for his actions he is condemned to wander the earth, telling his tale to those he meets as a warning.The Rime of the Ancient Mariner is Samuel Taylor Coleridge's longest major poem and marks the beginning of the romantic movement in British literature. This edition also includes many of Coleridge's other works, including Kubla Khan, Christabel and a selection of the conversation' poems.Trade Review‘The greatest sea poem in the language’ Jonathan Raban ‘The Poem contains many delicate touches of passion…a great number of the stanzas present beautiful images, and are expressed with unusual felicity of language’ William Wordsworth ‘Astonishingly, the poem's spell doesn't seem to weaken over the years…The scenery remains thrillingly hellish, while laced with photographically realistic meteorological effects, and the narrative drive is irresistible’ Guardian

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Book SynopsisOne of the foremost achievements in Western literature, Homer''s Iliad tells the story of the darkest episode of the Trojan War. At its center is Achilles, the greatest warrior-champion of the Greeks, and his conflict with his leader Agamemnon. Interwoven in the tragic sequence of events are powerfully moving descriptions of the ebb and flow of battle, the besieged city of Ilium, the feud between the gods, and the fate of mortals.

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Book SynopsisA collectible new Penguin Classics series: stunning, clothbound editions of ten favourite poets, which present each poet''s most famous book of verse as it was originally published. Designed by the acclaimed Coralie Bickford-Smith and beautifully set, these slim, A format volumes are the ultimate gift for poetry lovers. In 1855 Walt Whitman published his first collection of poetry, Leaves of Grass. The volume received great praise from leading Transcendentalist poet Ralph Waldo Emerson. This encouraged what would become a lifelong project as Whitman expanded and rewrote the volume until his death in 1892. Whitman''s innovative use of free verse and the quotidian achieved his aim of reaching out to the everyday American. This edition, based on the earliest published version of 1855, features Whitman''s most famous poem ''Song of Myself'', an American epic inspired by his personal experiences.

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Book SynopsisShortlisted for the Ted Hughes Award for New Work in Poetry Here at the turn of the leaf a horseman is ridingthrough the space between one world and another . . .' The Mabinogi is the Welsh national epic, a collection of prose tales of war and enchantment, adventure and romance, which have long fascinated readers all over the world. Matthew Francis's retelling of the first four stories (the Four Branches of the Mabinogi) is the first to situate it in poetry, and captures the magic and strangeness of this medieval Celtic world: a baby is kidnapped by a monstrous claw, a giant wades across the Irish Sea to do battle, a wizard makes a woman out of flowers, only to find she is less biddable than he expected. Permeating the whole sequence is a delight in the power of the imagination to transform human experience into works of tragedy, comedy and wonder.The Mabinogi is an important contribution to the storytelling of the British Isles.''I have waited a life for this book: our ancient British tales re-told, in English, by a poet, as they were in their original Welsh. This is more than translation. It picks up the harp and sings.'' Gillian Clarke

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Book SynopsisA gorgeous collection of the poetry of Jane Austen, voted all-time best writer, author of Pride & Prejudice and Emma

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Book SynopsisA stunning anthology of poetry to create calm and peacefulness. The poems are arranged around themes of meditation, friendship, gratitude, prayers and blessings, stillness and consolation. Part of the Macmillan Collector’s Library; a series of stunning, pocket-sized classics with ribbon markers. These beautiful books make perfect gifts or a treat for any book lover. This edition features a preface by Ana Sampson. There are poems by Emily Dickinson, William Shakespeare, W. B. Yeats, Katherine Mansfield, George Herbert, William Wordsworth, Anne Brontë, Khalil Gibran, Rumi, Walt Whitman and many more. There are also uplifting prayers and blessings from around the world. Each inspiring verse flows effortlessly into the next in this anthology of classic poetry, Poems for Stillness.

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